


Bandages

by MaliceRed



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:58:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliceRed/pseuds/MaliceRed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco Bott is a dedicated medical student, and every aspect of his life is exciting and worth living, but he'll soon meet someone who doesn't think like that at all. Now, sweet Marco in a white coat will do his best to heal Jean's wounds, -all of them- and show him life may be tough, but one can be tougher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bandages

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic based on my favourite ship from all times, JeanMarco.  
> Now I would like to clear up somethings:  
> This is not an accurate description of how clerkships actually work. I did some research, read some handbooks but still I think some details and terms are wrong; if many things sound made-up, yes they are. I'm in first year of Health Science School, and I'm not from the USA, so please go easy if you have a comment.  
> English is not my mother languague, so maybe sometimes you'll find sentences that don't make sense, I may have mistranslated them from my head to the text.
> 
> Unoriginal, dramatic Hospital AU made for my best friend Effy (because we both enjoy tragic stories and gay shippings).

_  
_**Chapter 1: He Arrived At Midnight.**

_"I'll hold your hand when you are feeling mad at me_  
 _Yeah when the monsters they won't go and_  
 _your windows won't close_  
 _I'll pretend to see what you see"  
_ -Foster The People.

“Oh my goodness, Marco. Look at your eyes, you are not getting enough sleep...”  
“I know, mom… but please don’t worry any more, I’m fine. Any student has to go through this, I’m no different.”  
“Ok, just take care, will you?”, my lovely mom said. She looked concerned, but proud to see me in a white coat, and that was one of the main reasons I would always try my hardest.  
I planted a kiss on her cheek, as always, and after telling I would do my best to get some rest –though I knew that was one big lie- I got on my way to the hospital. I was finishing my first month in clerkship, and my mom was right, I looked terrible. But even when I was tired and sleepy, the excitement was bigger. There was nothing I loved more than being there, practicing, watching other doctors rushing from building to building, having the opportunity to help people, save lives.

I used to imagine it a lot, back then, what it would be like to save a life; I thought I wouldn’t know until I graduated as a surgeon and started dealing with patients. But the chance came sooner, and I wasn’t even prepared… and I’m not or will ever be happy with the circumstances of his arrival, but I will always be grateful for the chance to get close to Jean Kirschtein’s life, and feeling that I somehow, helped him save it.

* * *

I’m really proud to say I got to be in one of the best hospitals, if not the best.

Jäeger Hospital, in Shinganshina district was founded around ten years ago, and it was known for having the best med lectures given by the best graduates of Trost University and St. Rose College of Medicine. I come from the first one. As I said, the best needs the best, doesn’t it? So I worked my ass off my first two years of school so I could get excellent grades and list Jäeger as my first option.  
Five of us made it. My best friend, Armin Arlert who was on his way to become the best psychiatrist in the country; Sasha Braus: a brilliant Clinical Nutrition student, Mikasa Ackerman and his foster brother Eren Jäeger. Rings a bell? Eren is the son of Grisha and Carla Jäeger, founders of the hospital. But don’t think Eren or Mikasa had it easier, their parents were strict and wanted their kids to be the very best so they would actually earn their places as residents in the hospital.  
  
I’m sure you’ve heard enough med students talking about their lives, or better said, NO LIVES. So far, I’ve learned from clerkship that:  
1\. You become an expert in washing off stains from white clothing  
2\. Vending machines become your best friends  
and  
3\. It is actually possible to survive entire days with nothing but caffeine and a few unplanned naps. And talking about naps, you kinda learn to fall asleep anywhere.  
So yeah, you would find me with a book on one hand, a coffee on the other one and lots of notes around me.  
Our supervisors were Doctor Erwin Smith and Doctor Levi. While the first one was firm yet friendly and warm, Doc Levi was… something else. He gave orders with cold looks and deep down you just knew he saw as sad annoying noobs. I even heard him whisper “brats” one time. He had the whitest coat I've seen in my life, and his office was tidy and bright. Sometimes Erwin would tease him telling him he was a "clean freak". I had heard that, when on duty, Doc Levi washed his hands twice before and after surgery and in-between patients.  
  
Any way, I was assigned to emergency medicine that week, under commands of Doctor Hanji Zöe, chief doctor in emergency and intensive care wing. She was committed with her job and was amazingly efficient working under pressure. She was so nice, and always told us to call her by her name, Hanji, and use the “Doctor” only when Erwin or Levi were around, so they wouldn’t start a speech on respect and rules. She was talkative with the interns and students.  
I teamed up with a pair of cool residents, Gunther and Erd, who were always making jokes and helping me with some homeworks. They went easy at pimping and that’s probably why I sticked to them all the time. They were best friends with a nurse named Petra, one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever known.

By Wednesday nothing actually interesting happened. There comes a time in every med student’s life when “patient with bleeding rectum” becomes part of the non-interesting stuff. All day I was doing some coursework, getting to know my patients and chatting with Erd and Gunther in my free time.  
As the sky was darkening, I realized I forgot to eat… again. I went to the cafeteria with Sasha and Eren for a quick dinner, and went back to Hanji’s office to finish a couple of reports.

* * *

 

It was around midnight, and I was already exhausted, but I couldn’t fall asleep yet, I had lots of reading to do, and also I didn’t want to miss anything; Armin had told me how a few days ago, he was the only intern roaming in the emergency wing past midnight, and a surgery was being held, but personnel was short. Dr. Erwin asked him for basic assistance and Armin was far beyond excited. I decided to give the reading a rest for a couple of minutes, so I went to the waiting room of the ER to clear my mind.  
From the chair, I could see the clock marking 12:35 and the whole floor was silent and calm. The low buzz of the lights, the working motor of vending and coffee machines, and the beeping of distant monitors were getting lost in the distance as I dozed off slowly, staring at the white tiles of the floor, under my white shoes… everything was white and peaceful…  
  
The clatter of the emergency entrance door woke me up so violently I almost fell off my chair. Paramedics and nurses were running through the aisle, pushing a stretcher directly to surgery room. I glanced at the person lying there, through the flutter of white coats, the blood stained sheets and the quick hands moving all around.  
Now, I knew I was supposed to act stronger than that, I was going to be a surgeon one day! Emotions could not be in first plane when looking at a patient. But I couldn’t stop my heart from feeling shrunk and cold when my eyes met the boy’s stare.  
It was like if time had frozen for a few seconds, and his stretcher had stopped right when he was passing in front of me. He couldn’t have been older than me, maybe even my age. He was so pale; his skin mixed with the coats of the doctors around him. His honey-coloured eyes were full of tears and his golden hair was messy; he was breathing heavily through clenched teeth, like he was trying to scream at the ceiling but had no air left in his lungs.  
Suddenly, as everyone passed by without noticing me, shouting words I could not identify, I felt the urge to stand up and follow them; I didn’t know why, but I wanted so badly to run next to the stretcher until it reached the surgery room and make sure the guy was fine. He looked terrible, what could have possibly happen to him? Another clatter of doors and the floor was silent again. But not in the peaceful way it had been before. Now I couldn’t even think of sleeping. I was worried. I wanted to _know_.

So I walked.

I walked the aisle with my heart beating fast, and my mind trying to untangle ideas. I only looked at the boy for a few seconds, why was I so anxious now? My thoughts were interrupted by a deep, scary voice.

 

“Hey, kid. Yeah, you, are there any other students here?” Doctor Levi had appeared from nowhere, with that cold look in his eyes, the one that said to you “ _I will judge every word you say, probably as stupid_ ”. I could do nothing but nod and mumble “Yes… sir… uh, can I help I mean, how can I help you, Doctor?”  
He looked at me, same expression. After a sigh he ordered me “They have enough team tonight, you don't need to assist there " He said, making a head gesture towards the doors where the stretcher had disappear minutes ago. "Come help me clean some surgery instruments… After that, Doctor Zöe  will tell you what to do, understood?”  
“Yes, Doctor”  
“And, Bott”  
“Yes, Doctor?”  
“Please, don’t fall asleep in the waiting room chairs”  
I felt my face growing red and hot as I mumbled one last “yes, Doctor…” and followed him to do as instructed.

The surgery was about an hour long. When the stretcher was finally taken to room 104, the golden hair boy was asleep… well, more like sedated and straddled to the stretcher. He didn’t look peaceful at all. I was asked to check the post-surgery vital signs , insert the nasogastric tube and to check medication dose. Hanji said he had a rough night and should rest. Then, looking at the dark circles under my eyes, told me to go home and get some rest too.  
“You’ll continue tomorrow morning, report around 7 am.”  
“Yes, Doctor, thank you”  
If it hadn’t been for the extreme exhaustion I was carrying since the previous day’s afternoon, I would have had trouble sleeping. My mind was still lost in those honey-like eyes, and the tears coming out of them. My last thought after falling completely was his disturbed look, asleep and all, when coming out of surgery room.


End file.
